The “28 Days Later” franchise depicts an epidemic of a rabies variant that transforms humans into extremely violent zombie-like beings. The first installment is a little gem, endlessly rewatchable. The second has a fabulous opening scene, but unfortunately, the characters and story fall a bit too short. And that’s where 28 Years Later comes in. This third film is intended to be the starting point of a new trilogy, promising to further develop this post-apocalyptic universe.
A brilliant start: the legacy of the opening scene
One thing we can’t take away from those movies is their talent for producing a great opening. The first part follows a child caught in the crossfire of a violent attack on his family. He takes refuge in a church, which is also besieged by the infected.
It is once again brilliant.
We then jump to a group of survivors on a small island off the coast of Scotland. Although life seems to have returned to normal, the entire United Kingdom is under strict quarantine. We can see potential starting points that suggest the island isn’t quite the preserved paradise it seems to be. For example, it could be ruled by a cult wearing masks for which no explanation is ever provided in this entry.
Evolution and questionable choices
The movie follows a father-son duo on their first hunt. We witness the evolution of the infected on a similar basis to The Last of Us: From those who feed on worms to “alphas” who are zombies on steroids. Although in 28 years one might expect the infected’s clothing to have disintegrated, this installment chose to emphasize filming them naked with zoom-ins… which is a choice.
Not a good choice, but a choice nonetheless.
Get the blouse ready
That’s where the story takes a complete turn. 28 Years Later becomes a boring episode of House M.D. (Spoiler: it isn’t lupus). From idiotic decisions to bizarre encounters, the film loses a great deal of its zombie aspect to focus on the human element. Same as the first one.
I understand the theme of Spike having to learn to live with death, but here the momentum gained from the dangers of the mainland is erased and crushed by learning what it means to accept death. Between close-ups of d*cks and a zombie birth, the film’s tone is everywhere and nowhere simultaneously. After finally finding a doctor, Spike decides to leave the uninfected baby and go back to the risky mainland, which he knows virtually nothing about.
The Savile Highlight
And that’s when we literally enter “What the fuck” territory. A gang of Jimmy Savile lookalikes performs Power Rangers-style acrobatics while killing zombies. It’s assumed that the leader must be Jimmy, the little blond boy from the opening, and that he must have idolized Jimmy Savile back then, who was seen as a “saint” at the time…
But it’s a very strange choice for us in 2025 onward, knowing that he was one of the worst people ever. Putting a highlight on him feels like glorifying Epstein knowing what he did, when their names should have died with them. But that’s just my opinion. And it leaves so many questions unanswered: It’s the apocalypse—where do they find endless stocks of hair bleach or wigs and velour tracksuits?
What now ?
28 Years Later follows its predecessors’ footsteps and splits the film into several parts, but unfortunately, they aren’t of equal quality, so the result derails the overall enjoyment. I’m truly apprehensive about what the future of this trilogy holds.
My rating: 2/5 bats
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